Even though Warner Music Group at one point was among the plethora of industry Haters of Napster-esque online music sharing and downloading, they’ve seen the writing on the YouTube and have recently embraced the entrepreneurialism of artists desperate to get their music and self-made videos out to the public via this distribution/destination. According to a recent Rolling Stone article, by negotiating with YouTube to promote their artists, which then generates advertisers to come on board based on decent content, it may be one way for the hard-hit music industry, including Warner Music Group, to make money again through music.

YouTube, which started way back in February, 2005 by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, now has 60,000 new videos being uploaded a day. (Obviously, this makes search an important key focus.) For artists such as Panic! At the Disco, for example, thanks to YouTube they’re video single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” has been streamed almost 6 million times, making them a hit before they even started their tour. Like Fallout Boy via MySpace fame a few months ago, Panic! At the Disco is experiencing a similar fate via YouTube. And they’re not the only ones: Taking Back Sunday’s home videos of behind the scenes shots with the band such as a tour of their tour bus, and Pretty Girls Make Graves all have unique videos on YouTube that have given the bands new fame among audiences previously not aware of their work. But in addition, for new bands, if they’re videos are not viewed favorably by fans, they have the chance to re-produce them and post them again. Which also helps new bands hone their skills, style, and songs, providing them with an opportunity that in the past was rarely ever possible.

To answer just where trends are headed in the digital world of youth culture and the rising fame of YouTube, youth perceptions of MySpace, as well as measuring downloading patterns, music, entertainment, and uploading personal content, among many other topics, Label Networks has launched a “Digital Lifestyle Report.” While the report is currently still underway, new data analyzed last weekend quantifies that 90.6% of 13-24-year-olds upload some sort of personal content, i.e., video, photos, profiles somewhere on the internet. Interestingly, 18-20-year-olds, followed by 15-17-year-olds upload the most, but then drops among “older demographics” of 25-30-year-olds.

For the entertainment industry, particularly music, user-generated content, sharing, and self-distribution have always appeared threatening. The answer to profitability however, may not be so much about monetizing the status quo system of supply and demand, but determining new opportunities based on just what exactly entertainment means to this new generation—which tends to think of “entertainment” very differently than the average TV and music executive—and where it’s headed and why. Such answers are within the results of the Digital Lifestyle Report.

For more information about Label Networks’ Digital Lifestyle Report, please call (323) 630-4000 or email info@labelnetworks.com.